- araratchurch
- Aug 2, 2024
- 4 min read
“Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.”
Proverbs 14:4 NLT
To me, stolen valor would have to be one of the worst offenses, in terms of fraud, anybody could commit. Stolen valor: the act of claiming battle experiences, heroism, and/or injuries, that never happened, is a slap in the face to all those men and women who did do, or have experienced, what these fraudsters are claiming concerning themselves.
Stolen valor, although among the most egregious examples of wanting to garner the benefits of having done something you never did, or would never do, it certainly isn’t the only example of such behavior.
Now, with stolen valor, the motives for such behavior may range from getting attention, or position, or money, but whatever the goal is, it is desired to be had without paying the price for it.
Think of the people who want a great physique, but want to eat whatever they want and won’t exercise. Or consider those who would love to be able to play a musical instrument, but can’t stomach having to practice anything. These are also examples of wanting something, but are not willing to pay the price for it.
Many years ago the Lord spoke to me, saying, “You want to be a warrior, but you don’t want to fight.” As He always is, the Lord was right. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers or set myself up as a target for the disapprovers. Remaining as such, I would never have been able to do what the Lord sent me to do.
Among the first human beings on earth were Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve. Cain became very distraught when he did not get the results he wanted: God‘s approval of his offering. On the other hand, his younger brother, Abel, presented an offering that was accepted by the Lord.
“Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.””
Genesis 4:1-7 NLT
Tragically, instead of doing what the Lord required of him (Cain would have known what the Lord was referencing, or the Lord would not have mentioned his doing what is right), Cain allowed his anger to cause him to murder his brother.
Now, we could question why Cain was not willing to just do what was right, choosing rather to kill the one who was willing to do what was right. But the fact is, Cain wasn’t willing, and it ended tragically.
In our opening scripture we see the proverbial writer making the observation that if you want to bring in a bumper crop, you’ve got to have the help of oxen. But if you’re not willing to deal with the oxen’s mess, choosing rather to keep clean stalls, you won’t have oxen, and you won’t be able to produce and gather the bountiful harvest you desire.
Child of God, whereas having a big harvest, enjoying prosperity, acquiring a certain physique, etc., require doing some things you don’t necessarily want to do, following in our Lord‘s footsteps, doing what the Lord has sent us to do, certainly requires no less.
Indeed, we are told that demanding our life be just as we want it to be, requiring no sacrifice, enduring no hardship, actually leads to losing our eternal reward.
“Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:3-6, 11-12, 15 NLT
Ultimately, if we want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we need to be able to shovel through whatever we must to endure to the end and receive the promise!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Aug 1, 2024
- 4 min read
“Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.”
Proverbs 14:9 NLT
Later in my father‘s life, he experienced many burns on his fingers. Now, these injuries were not the result of my father being clumsy or careless around things that can cause burns; rather, they were actually the result of him holding his coffee cup.
To explain: You see because of nerve damage, the fingers with which my father held his coffee cup, were numb. He could not feel the pain that would have triggered him to move his fingers. Therefore, he would continue to hold the cup, only finding out later of the injury by seeing the resulting blisters. Sadly, such injuries are not uncommon in people who have lost feeling in parts of their body due to neuropathy.
As well, you may or may not be aware that there are some people born with the inability to feel any kind of pain! With congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), terrible injuries, even death, easily occur because they don’t know when they are damaging their body until they see the results of the Injury.
You see, as much as we all would like to go the rest of our lives without feeling the impact of a stubbed toe, the crushing pain of a migraine, or the incapacitation of other severe pain, the fact remains that the ability to feel pain, is our friend. And clearly, doing away with the warning pain offers, does not do away with the injury.
Just as we should be grateful that we can feel pain, even when it makes us uncomfortable, we should also be thankful for our ability to feel guilty, or if you will, feel convicted, concerning sin.
Paul told Timothy that having a dead conscience— one that no longer felt the sting of sin—would be common in the last days.
“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.”
1 Timothy 4:1-2 NLT
I fear that in some churches’ attempts to make people feel better, less guilty (and be more likely to come back to church), they have redefined sin as acceptable behavior. Some even go as far to say that a guilty conscience indicates a lack of trusting what God did through Jesus Christ.
Now, whereas we know that once we have confessed our sins and truly repented, turning away from those sins, to continue to feel guilty about what we have done in the past, is condemnation and is not pleasing to God.
First, the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God is what leads to repentance and the turning of our life over to Jesus Christ when we come to faith in Him. But for those who are saved, the need for guilt from the conviction of the Holy Spirit, is not over. Guilt from conviction can save us from going further into sin, running the risk of turning away from God without even knowing it.
Paul had found it necessary to severely condemn the church at Corinth for their sinful behavior and their rejection of the truth. However, his confrontation of their sin, brought them to repentance. Now we know that probably not every single one of the guilty parties allowed Paul’s discipline to lead them to repentance. But apparently, most of them did respond with repentance and good works.
“I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.”
2 Corinthians 7:8-11 NLT
In his commentary back to the Corinthians, Paul makes a distinction between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow, or worldly guilt and godly guilt.
You see, when a person experiences the distress of sin, without repenting, without changing their ways, the only thing they are left with is regret: no repentance, no change, but plenty of regret. That is what characterizes worldly sorrow, often manifesting itself as depression, self-pity and despair.
On the other hand, the kind of sorrow God wants us to have prompts us to repent, crying out to the Lord to have mercy on us, then accepting His forgiveness as we go on to serve Him.
Such was the reaction of King David when his sin was exposed by the prophet of God.
“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”
Psalms 51:1-4 NLT
In our opening scripture, we see the proverbial writer commenting that only fools refuse to acknowledge their guilt. However, those who are godly (or would be godly), do what it takes to make it right.
Child of God, if you are feeling guilty about something you have done or failed to do, wait no longer, go before the Lord and throw yourself on His is mercy. Ask Him to help you to get back to righteousness. Then pick up your cross where you left it, forgetting what is behind, to follow Jesus.
Godly sorrow, or guilt, is not a problem. It is a warning. Heed that warning.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 31, 2024
- 3 min read
“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."”
Matthew 12:34-37 ESV
Many years ago, as a young preacher in a major denomination, my grandfather spearheaded—and was largely responsible for—a rule being added to the denomination’s bylaws, requiring mandatory retirement by a particular age. He, still being strong and young, thought it best that ministers no longer serve past their days of strength.
But as we all know, the clock keeps ticking, and the time came when he reached that age and was stricken with that same boomerang. Needless to say (if you knew him), he was not happy being put out to pasture.
Now, he was a wonderful man and meant absolutely no harm to anyone in offering that rule. As a matter fact, when he was involved in the effort to install that rule, he said that he would gladly step down when he got to that age. But, when he got there, it was a very different story.
Even though my grandfather regretted the words that now came upon him, this example doesn’t show a tragic consequence of words once spoken. But sadly, many do experience great devastation because of their own words.
Political campaigns have been aborted, friendships destroyed, marriages torn apart, and yes, souls lost, all because of words spoken coming home to roost.
The proverbial writer rightly expresses that we will eat the fruit of our own words. Sometimes that fruit brings blessings and life. Sometimes that fruit brings judgement and death.
“A man's [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].”
Proverbs 18:20-21 AMPC
James echoes a familiar theme from the Bible wherein we are cautioned concerning the potential lethality of a careless tongue.
“Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!“
James 3:2-10 NLT
In our opening scripture we see Jesus warning that we will give an account for ALL of our careless words. Now that should not be taken lightly as we are talking about eternal consequences. But even now, you, as well as I, are most likely currently eating the fruit of our own words in one way or another. For some of us that fruit is sweet. But for others that fruit is very bitter.
Friend, let’s ask the Lord to put a guard over our tongues and the source from which it operates: our hearts. Let’s put an end to living the unforced error of eating the bitter fruit that sprung from our own mouths.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!